Keeping To The Shadows
by Darke-Angyl
Summary: She wasn't even a blip on most people's radars, keeping to herself as she went through her life... until the day all of that changed. Can she deal with the consequences?
1. Chapter 1

Olivia Ronson walked down Devlin Street in South Boston. Her long black hair was styled in a braid, and she wore a pair of black jeans and a black tee shirt. There was nothing about her that stood out. No one glancing her way bothered to give her a second look, and that was exactly the way she liked it. In her line of work, she couldn't afford to have anyone remember anything about her. Anonymity was her best friend.

Olivia unlocked the front door of her apartment building and let herself inside. She ignored the elevators and went into the stairwell, climbing the five flights up to her apartment. She let herself inside, tossing her keys on top of the small curio table that she kept by her front door. She kicked her shoes off, placing them on the floor of the small closet in her foyer.

Olivia went directly into her kitchen and fixed herself a small pot of spaghetti that would be her dinner for the next three nights. She used her loaf of bread to make herself a couple of slices of garlic bread and threw together a simple salad. She enjoyed her meal with a glass of white wine before cleaning up the mess she had made.

Olivia went into her office after she finished cleaning up, smiling slightly. In the seventeen years since she had left home at the age of fifteen, her office set up was one of the things that she was the most proud of. It was completely self-contained, cut off from the rest of the world.

Olivia had graduated from MIT at the age of twenty-two with degrees in engineering and technological development. She loved creating things, especially electronic gadgets. Her office was completely powered by solar energy. Constant signal jumping kept her location an enigma to anyone who might be searching for her. She could be sitting right next to them, and they would never know it. The same was true with the cell phone she used for her side business, and she had made everything herself.

Olivia had discovered at an early age that she had not only an affinity for technology, but also for weapons. She could learn the intricacies of any weapon as quickly as someone learned to jump rope or ride a bicycle, and she loved it. By the time she was eighteen, her side career had been steadily increasing.

Olivia had quickly made a name for herself, even if no one knew what it was. Now, fifteen years of being a well known shadow made it possible for her to pick and choose the jobs she accepted and the ones that she let go. Unfortunately, it also meant that the authorities in most of the states and several foreign countries were looking for her harder than ever.

Olivia had been considering an early retirement for the last several months, at least from her secondary career. She knew that she would need to maintain her job as a high school English and Creative Writing teacher so that suspicion never turned in her direction, but she had more than enough money saved to be able to keep up her current lifestyle for the rest of her life. No one at the high school had any idea who she really was.

Then there was the fact that Olivia was developing a conscious, and that was the ultimate kiss of death for someone like her. She was starting to feel bad about the work she did, even though it was work she felt needed to be done. She sighed and turned on her laptop, still trying to decide what to do.

There were three emails waiting for Olivia on the account for her secondary career. She sighed again as she clicked on the first one. It was a confirmation of the seventy-five thousand dollar wire transfer into her secondary bank account. It was the final payment for the job she had completed the week before.

The second email was from a client that had used Olivia's services several times in the past, and he always paid well. He had a new job for her and was offering to pay her more than double anything that she had ever charged anyone before. She made a face as she sent the attachments through her anti-bugging and security programs before opening them. If the guy was willing to pay top dollar, the job had to be huge. As soon as she got the notification that everything was secure, she clicked open the attachments.

The job concerned a set of fraternal twin brothers. The two men had apparently started wrecking havoc throughout the city, and the client wanted them eliminated as soon as possible. There was more information provided in the attachments than any other client had ever given her. The man had obviously done his homework on the two men. As she read the information, she learned more about the twin brothers than she had ever known about any of her students. They were obviously a huge threat to her client.

Shaking her head as she debated taking the job, Olivia opened the third and final email. Her eyes widened. It was another confirmation email. Someone had transferred five hundred thousand dollars into her account. As she was processing this, a fourth email came through. She clicked on it and quickly read the note explaining that the five hundred thousand dollars was just a down payment. She would be receiving an additional five hundred thousand dollars for each twin after their deaths were confirmed. Olivia took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, speaking softly into the silent office.

"Well it looks as if your days are numbered, Connor and Murphy Macmanus. I hope you enjoy the ones you have left."


	2. Chapter 2

"Anytin' else, lass?" the white haired bartender asked as he sat a mug of beer down in front of Olivia.

Olivia smiled, picking up the mug and shaking her head. "This will work for now. Thanks." She turned on her stool to survey the bar. It was a typical Irish place, loud and raucous laughter echoing between the walls as men and women drank and enjoyed each others' company. She noted a door in the back corner that probably led to a store room, making a mental note to find the door that would be its match outside.

"Buy ye a drink?" a voice inquired from beside her.

Olivia smiled and shook her head yet again. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm good. Thanks." She watched as the man shrugged good-naturedly and walked further down the bar to try his luck with someone else.

The white haired man shook his head as he watched the woman nurse the single beer for an hour. He nodded in her direction as she left some bills on the table and walked out into the night alone, wondering briefly what her story might be. He was used to people, especially ones who sat at his bar, making conversation.

Olivia was smiling as she walked out into the night, hoping that the old man appreciated the tip she had left for him on top of the bar. She slipped into the shadows and moved carefully along the side of the building as she searched for the door that would lead into a back store room area. She smiled again when she found it... in better shape than she had been anticipating. She stealthily made her way up to it and stretched up to look through the small window that was toward the top of it.

Three men were inside, drinking and laughing much like their male counterparts in the main part of the bar. It was easy to see that the three of them were friends as the drank and goofed around with each other. It was also easy for her to tell which ones were the Macmanus brothers and which was the unknown, back-up shot, that was traveling with them.

Using all of the things she had learned about the brothers over the last few days, she decided that her best bet would be to spend a couple of days shadowing them. She needed to get their movements done exactly if she was going to discover the best time and place to kill them and fulfill the contract. She moved back into the shadows behind the dumpster on the other side of the alley to wait for one of the men to emerge.

Three hours later, in the early hours of the morning, the door finally opened.

Murphy Macmanus walked out, smoking a cigarette and grinning as he carefully made his way up to the street. He kept the collar of his dark pea coat turned up to hide most of his face as he walked down the sidewalk, nodding to a person here or there that he recognized and knew wouldn't turn him in.

Olivia silently slipped out from behind the dumpster and began following the man she recognized to be Murphy Macmanus. She studied him as she pursued him, noting that he had an easy smile and friendly eyes. If she hadn't read the file about him, she would have a very hard time believing that the man was a cold-blooded killer who didn't care who it was he killed. She watched as he turned into a church, slipping inside a few moments after him.

Murphy made his way down the center aisle of the church, kneeling in front of the crucifix statue and saying a Hail Mary, crossing himself and kissing his fingertips before standing back up. He walked over to the arrangement of candles, lighting two of them and bowing his head to say a silent prayer.

Olivia slid onto a pew, lowering her head as if in prayer, feeling more and more confused about the man she was shadowing. Never once, in the years she had been in this business, had one of her targets acted as if they were innocent without knowing that someone who mattered was watching them. "That's got to be it," she whispered to herself. She looked around the interior of the church, but she didn't see anyone that looked like law enforcement or mob. She sighed and put her head in her hands in confusion.

Murphy finished his prayer for their lost loved ones and turned to leave the church. He spotted the woman sitting on one of the pews toward the back and gave her an encouraging smile as he walked past her. He stopped in the vestibule where there was a locked box with a slot in the top to receive donations. He pulled a thick, folded bundle of money from one of his pockets and had to take a few moments to force it through the slot. Once he had finally managed to do it, he opened the door and stepped back outside.

Olivia got up quickly, her eyes wide. She stared long and hard at the collection box, wondering if it was some kind of trick. Did the man know that she was shadowing him? That she was planning on taking him out? She shook her head as she pulled the door of the church open and stood on top of the steps, taking a moment to confirm which direction he was heading in. He couldn't possibly know. The only ones who did was herself and the one who was paying her.

Murphy lit another cigarette as he stood a few feet away from the church. He spotted the woman coming out of the church out of the corner of his eye and smirked. Part of him wondered what her story was... what had brought her to the church at the late hour, why she was all alone, why she looked upset. He sighed. It was none of his business. His brother and he had returned to Boston to get revenge for the priest. Once that was finished, they would more than likely be returning to Ireland. He couldn't afford to let a woman cloud his judgment.

Olivia started down the steps but stopped when she caught Murphy watching her. She could tell he was from the angle he was standing. She bit the inside of her lower lip, wondering if she had blown her contract already. She took a deep breath and continued down the stairs, acting as if she hadn't noticed him.

An angry voice suddenly rang out through the night. "Your daddy owes me a lot of money, Little Man!"

Olivia looked toward the sound of the voice, covering her mouth in horror as she watched what appeared to be a gang member pulling a gun on a young boy who didn't appear to be any older than twelve. She slowly reached inside of the jacket she was wearing, her hand wrapping around the butt of the Beretta she was carrying at the moment. Her weapons were always changing so that none of them could be traced back to her.

Before she could even get a firm grip on the gun, Murphy hurried past the steps. He wedged himself between the young boy and the man threatening him, pulling out one of his Desert Eagles and killing the man.

The gang member dropped lifeless to the ground, pulling the trigger on his own gun one time before he died and his body collapsed onto the sidewalk.

As chaos erupted around them, Olivia ran over to where the young boy was staring down in horror at Murphy. She knelt down beside Murphy and reached up to put her hands on the boy's shoulders. "Go home," she instructed him firmly. "Get yourself safely inside and stay there!" She gave him a gentle shove to help get him started and then turned her attention to the man laying, bleeding, beside her.

Murphy's vision blurred as he struggled to breathe. He had been shot before, but it had been in the shoulder. He knew this, a bullet somewhere in his abdomen, was much worse. He dimly became aware of the sound of sirens, very faint but coming steadily closer. "Ye should go, lass," he whispered to the woman who knelt beside him. "Gi' oudda 'ere b'for som'tin' 'appens te ye."

"You're coming with me," Olivia insisted, coming to a fast decision. She got up and moved to stand behind Murphy's head, gripping him under his shoulders and dragging him over to the church steps. "Let's get you up. I can't drag you all the way. You've got no choice but to walk. I'll help, but you've got to get up on your feet. Come on!"

Murphy groaned, trying to use the steps more than the woman as he pushed himself to his feet. He didn't have the strength to protest as she grabbed his arm and hooked it over her shoulders, wrapping her other arm around his waist and all but carrying him as they stumbled away from the church as quickly as they could. "Where're goin'?" His eyes rolled back in his head as his voice slurred.

"I'm taking you home with me," Olivia answered. "I'm assuming you can't go to a hospital."

Murphy opened his mouth to protest, even after she half-dragged him up another set of steps and into a house. The last thing he remembered seeing before he passed out was her dark eyes staring down at him with concern.


	3. Chapter 3

Olivia tried not to worry as Murphy lost consciousness. She finished dragging him into her bedroom and managed to pull him up onto her bed. She quickly pulled off his shoes, pants, and shirt before moving into the bathroom to get the medical kit she always kept stocked in the event that she got injured while on a job. She brought it back to the bed, setting it on the bedside table. She used rubbing alcohol to wash away as much of the blood as she could, sticking her finger into the hole created by the bullet to feel how deep it was. Using a flashlight and a clamp, she probed for the bullet and slowly pulled it out, dropping it onto the table. She doused the wound with alcohol again before threading a hook shaped needle to stitch up some of the damage done inside it. Once she was sure he wouldn't be bleeding internally any longer, she stitched his wound closed and smeared some antibiotic cream over it before applying a thick white bandage.

After she was finished treating the man she was supposed to kill, Olivia locked herself in her bathroom. She removed her bloody clothes and took a long, hot shower. Feeling a little better, she wrapped one towel around her body and another around her wet hair before moving into the bedroom to find some clean pajamas to wear.

Murphy groaned as he began to wake up, shifting around on the bed. His entire body felt as if it was on fire, especially around his stomach. He groaned again, opening his eyes. He didn't recognize the room he was in at all. "What de feck?" His voice was harsh as he spoke. With a third groan, he started trying to sit up.

"Hey!" Olivia cried out in shock. She hurried over and gently pushed Murphy back down. "You shouldn't be trying to move. You were shot." She hurried into the bathroom and wet a cloth with cool water, coming back and laying it across his forehead. She cupped his cheeks between her palms. "You've got a fever," she murmured. "How are you feeling?"

Murphy stared up at the woman in shock. He recognized her as the one who had been inside the church... the one who had helped him get away before the authorities had gotten to the area. "I'll live," he answered gruffly. "Wha's yer name?"

Olivia hesitated, biting her lip as she considered the ramifications of allowing him to know her identity. "I'm Olivia." She smiled softly. "You don't have to tell me who you are, Mr. Macmanus." She stood up. "Lie still. I'm going to go get you a glass of cold water. I'll be right back."

Murphy sighed, wincing as he shifted around again. He was in the last place he had expected to find himself when he woke up. He took the glass gratefully from Olivia when she came back in with the water for him and even grudgingly let her help him sit up a little so he could drink it. He watched her as she fluffed the pillows up behind his back so he could stay more upright. "Why are ye doin' this?"

Olivia stared at him, fussing with the pillows a little more. "Why not?" she questioned. She knew she couldn't pretend not to know who he was. Everyone in South Boston knew who the Saints were. But she could pretend to believe he was doing it for good.

Murphy coughed slightly as he took another drink of the water. "I expected te wake up in a 'ospital jail or sometin'."

Olivia shook her head. "I'm not going to turn you in."

Murphy relaxed slightly with those words. He looked around, wondering where his clothes were. "What'd ye do wit me clothes? I need me phone te call me brudder. He'll be worried about me."

"Your clothes are in the dryer with mine. I had to wash all of them, because they were covered in blood." She moved over to the dresser and picked up his wallet and cell phone, bringing them over to him. "Your change is over there, too."

Murphy nodded, checking his phone and finding more than a dozen missed calls from his brother and several from Romeo and Doc, too. "Damn it," he muttered under his breath. He quickly dialed his brother's phone, glancing over apologetically at her. He winced, pulling his phone away from his ear as his brother's voice shouted at him. "Calm down, Connor. I got shot, but 'm all righ'." He listened for a few moments then looked over at Olivia again. "Can ye talk te 'im an' tell 'im where we are?"

Olivia took a deep breath before reaching for the phone. "We're three blocks west of your church. The number on the building is two-one-seven, and my apartment is on the fourth floor. It's number eight." She handed the phone back to Murphy. "I don't think you should try eating solid food yet, but I'm going to go make you some broth." Before he could respond, she turned and walked out of the bedroom.

Murphy forced his attention back on his brother with some difficulty. "I donna have any idea who she is. I saw 'er in the church, an' I stayed te watch 'er come out. I was curious about 'er. Then some arsehole pulled a gun on a kid. I shot 'im, but he managed te get off a shot fore he 'it the ground. Next thing I know, she's pulling me over te the church steps an' 'elpin' me te me feet. I woke up in 'er bed a few minutes ago. I donna even know what time it is."

Olivia took a minute in the living room to get her composure back, gripping the back of her couch for support. Both of her targets, probably with their partner, were going to be in her home very soon. It would be the perfect opportunity, except for two things. One, she didn't want to kill anyone in her home. That was never good for business. Two, she was beginning to doubt the validity of the claims made by her client. She just couldn't get those claims to mesh with the man she had witnessed save a young boy's life. It didn't make any sense, and she wasn't sure what she was going to do about it.


	4. Chapter 4

Olivia hummed to herself as she moved around her kitchen. Her house guest had fallen asleep again about an hour before, and the sun would be setting within the next hour. She was expecting Murphy's brother, Connor, and their friend, Romeo, to show up any time after it got dark. In anticipation of their arrival, she was preparing a simple meal of spaghetti with homemade garlic bread and a side salad.

Murphy shifted around on the bed, unable to find a comfortable position to lay in. The bullet hole in his abdomen was burning, and he was sweating. He groaned as he shifted around again.

Olivia looked toward the bedroom as she heard Murphy stirring around. She turned the heat down under the spaghetti sauce and went into the bedroom to check on him. "Hey," she spoke softly as she approached the bed. Reached out and brushing his hair away from his damp forehead, she re-adjusted the sheet and blanket that were covering him. "What's wrong?"

Murphy opened his eyes, revealing them to be glazed over with pain. "I donna know, lass," he responded through teeth that were clenched together. "It burns."

Olivia's eyes widened. "Your wound?" When he nodded, she pulled the covers back and reached out to remove the bandage she had covering the wound, cursing under her breath when someone knocked on her front door. She knew none of them could afford for her to ignore their arrival and leave them knocking on her door to draw the attention of her neighbors. She sighed. "I'll be right back." She hurried to the front door and opened it, speaking before either of them had a chance to. "Get your asses inside and lock the door behind you. One of you go finish up dinner." Without another word, she went back into the bedroom and shut the door.

Connor growled as he locked the front door and pointed Romeo toward the kitchen. He walked over to the bedroom and threw open the door. "Wha' de 'ell d'ye tink yer doin', lass? Ye donna open yer door an' start givin' me orders! I came te gi' me brudder!" His face dropped as his eyes fell on Murphy's pale face with a thick sheen of sweat covering it.

Olivia growled right back, briefly glancing up at him before looking back down at what she was doing. Her hands were already covered in Murphy's blood as she worked. "If you're going to insist on being in here, shut the hell up and hold this flashlight for me."

Connor stepped over and grabbed the flashlight from where she was holding it between her neck and shoulder, fighting the urge to hit the woman with it. "Wha' are ye doin' te 'im? I tough' ye said 'e was okay when 'e called."

Olivia looked up at Connor, only her eyes betraying how worried she was. "I thought he was stable, but I must have missed a bullet fragment or something. He started getting worse just before you got here. That's why I sounded like a bitch when I opened the door."

Connor reached around her and took Murphy's hand in his free one. "'ow long's 'e been unconscious?"

Olivia kept working as she talked. "He was awake when I went to answer the door and asleep when I came back. I gave him a shot to keep him out while I'm working. I didn't want to take a chance on him jerking at the wrong time and causing me to hurt him further."

Connor nodded, trying to keep the light shining where she needed it. "Ye can bring 'im oudda itonce yer done, righ'?"

"Yes, I can," Olivia assured him. She smiled a few moments later, reaching over for the medical tweezers. She pulled out two bullet fragments and searched the wound thoroughly to make sure that she didn't miss any others. "Got them!" she exclaimed happily.

"What the fuck is going on in here?!" Romeo shouted from the doorway, his eyes wide as he took in all of the blood.

Connor ignored Romeo as he leaned over Olivia's shoulder. "Is the' all o' dem?" He looked at her when she nodded. "Now wha'?"

Romeo moved closer, standing at the foot of the bed so that he wouldn't miss anything.

"Now I clean the wound and re-stitch it," Olivia started explaining. "I'll need to give him a shot of antibiotics, and he's going to need another blood transfusion." She glanced over at Connor as she cleaned the wound. "Do you know if he's allergic to any kind of medication?"

Connor shook his head. "'e's not allergic te nothing'." He looked at her. "D'ye need me te be in some place specific fer ye te do de blood transfer?"

"I'll take care of that," Olivia answered as she stitched Murphy's wound back up. She applied a thick layer of antibiotic cream and a new bandage. "You and Romeo go eat. I'll figure out places for you both to sleep after I finish up with your brother." She gave Murphy the shot that would bring him out of the temporary coma she had put him into. She gave him another shot of antibiotics before she started getting things together for the transfusion.

Connor hesitated, but he recognized the determined look in the woman's eyes. He and Murphy had both had it numerous times over the years. "I'll fix ye a plate fer when yer finished."

Romeo followed Connor out of the room without saying another word. He opened the cabinets in the kitchen until he found plates and handed Connor one before finally speaking. "Murph don't look so good, man."

Connor glared at him. "e'll be fine. She knows wha' she's doin'."

Olivia sighed as she stretched carefully out on the bed beside Murphy before hooking up the tubes between their arms to do the transfusion. She let her head fall back beside his on the pillow as the transfusion started.

Murphy groaned as he started waking up a few minutes later. He opened his eyes and tried to swallow, looking around. "Why are ye 'avin' te give me blood again, lass?"

She turned her head to look at him "The bullet fragmented, and I didn't realize it when I first dug it out. The fragments started causing an infection, so I had to open your wound back up to dig them out."

He gave her a slight smile. "I feel better already." He looked toward the door when he heard a familiar curse. "'ow long's me brudder been 'ere?"

"A little over an hour," Olivia answered. "Your friend saved the dinner I had been making, and your brother helped me with you."

"Tink 'e can 'elp me ou' wid some whiskey?" Murphy requested, giving her one of his charming smiles.

Olivia laughed softly. "Nice try." She shifted slightly. "I'll get you a glass of juice once this is finished."

"Ye need te get yerself sometin' te eat," Murphy commented. "Ye donna look so good, Olivia."

"I'll be fine," she insisted. "I'll get something to eat after I get you and your family settled in."


	5. Chapter 5

Olivia looked up when Connor came out of the kitchen. She was busy trying to make some pallets on the living room floor for her two extra guests to sleep on. She had already taken a glass of juice to Murphy and helped him sit up a little to drink some of it before tucking him back in and leaving what was left in the glass on his bedside table. She was dizzy and shaking slightly, but she was determined to get everything done before she relaxed.

Connor shook his head as he walked over to the woman with a plate of the spaghetti and homemade garlic bread that she had been cooking when he first arrived. He grabbed her by the hand and led her over to the couch. "Sit," he demanded and pushed the plate into her hands. "Eat." He noticed the dark circles ringing her eyes. The poor woman was exhausted. He doubted if she had slept at all since she had started taking care of his brother twenty-four hours before.

Romeo studied the woman as he set a bowl of the salad and a glass of iced tea on the coffee table where she could reach both. "I didn't see any alcohol to drink," he commented. He stepped back a little and finally asked, "How long have you been a doctor?"

Olivia swallowed the bite of spaghetti that she had been chewing before speaking, knowing that both men were watching her very close. "I'm not a doctor." She reached for the glass of iced tea and took a drink. "There's whiskey in the freezer behind the ice cream."

Romeo stared at the woman. "If you're not a doctor, how the fuck did you know what to do to take care of Murph?"

Olivia shrugged. "Hands on experience," she muttered vaguely. She sighed and looked up at Connor. "Look. I came out of the church last night and saw some guy pull a gun on a little boy. Your brother intervened and got himself shot for his trouble. I couldn't just walk away and leave him bleeding in the street. I had to help."

"So you took a complete stranger into your home without knowing a thing about him?" Romeo rolled his eyes. "What the fuck is your deal? What are you after?"

"I'm not after a damn thing except keeping a guy from dying from a wound he didn't deserve." She narrowed her eyes. "If he had deserved it, I would have left him in that street."

Connor remained silent. There was something about the woman that he couldn't figure out, but he was determined. She would either come clean with him before long, or he would discover her secrets another way.

IN OLIVIA'S OFFICE

Olivia closed and locked the door of her office after checking on Murphy again. Connor and Romeo were both settled in the living room, arguing over what to watch on the television. She double checked the security she had set up and then booted up her computer and waited for the internet to connect. As suspected, she had a new email. She clicked on it to open it up.

'Need update. Should have progress by now.'

Olivia sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, debating on what to reply with. There had definitely been progress made. If she wanted to, she could complete the contract that very night. There were just a few things stopping her, the foremost one being that she didn't kill people in her own home. Then there was the fact that she was starting to suspect that whoever had hired her wasn't being completely honest with her. She could tell they were hiding something from her.

Olivia took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few moments, thinking about the man laying in her bed. There was another reason that she felt that she could no longer complete the contract she had accepted. She bit her lip, deciding to be honest… at least with herself. Maybe it was because of how close she had been to Murphy over the past twenty-four hours, but she was falling in love with him. She was falling hard. She jumped slightly as the alert sounded on her computer, signaling her that another email had arrived. Curious, she clicked into it.

'You have been a very naughty girl and must be punished for not fulfilling the contract that you have agreed to. Be on your guard. Your days are numbered.'


	6. Chapter 6

Olivia pushed back from her desk with a gasp. She automatically looked around her office, but she knew that her apartment was completely secure. No one could get in unless she let them.

Connor glanced up when he heard a noise coming from the room the woman had disappeared into. He knew it wasn't a bathroom or a bedroom. She had already told them she only had one each of them. He got up and went to investigate, knocking softly on the door. "Ye okay in dere, lass?"

Olivia glanced toward the door. "I-I'm fine." She made a face as she heard the stutter in her voice. "Go back to your movie."

"Open de door," Connor insisted. "Donna make me break it down."

Olivia narrowed her eyes at him after she opened the door. "You are a stubborn son of a bitch," she responded with a snarl.

Connor laughed as he stepped into the room, whistling through his teeth at all of the equipment he saw. "Okay." He turned back to face her and crossed his arms. "Who de 'ell are ye, lass?" he demanded.

Olivia sighed, moving over to her desk after she shut and re-locked the door and sat down. She put her head in her hands and sighed. "Someone who is going to die very soon," she whispered.

"I tink ye bes' be tellin' me de whole story from de beginnin'," Connor stated, looking pointedly at her.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "I was born twenty-eight years ago after my mom endured fifty-seven hours of hard labor," she began.

Connor growled. "Yer not funny," he said with a snarl.

"Fine," Olivia retorted. "I'm a contract hit woman who was hired to kill you, your brother, and your little Mexican friend out there in my living room."

Connor growled again, louder. "Ye got abou' two seconds te give me a good reason not te kill ye e'righ' now."

Olivia smirked. "I won't bother with the obvious fact that your brother is in no condition to leave or that he really needs my help," she began. "How about the fact that the three of you are still alive? Or the fact that I saved your brother's life instead of letting him die?"

Connor took a deep breath to try to keep his temper under control. "Ye said yer gonna die soon," he said, suddenly remembering her earlier comment. "What did ye mean by tha'?"

Olivia ran her fingers through her hair. "Apparently whoever hired me is watching me," she answered. "I received a new message from them a little while ago stating that I will have to pay for not fulfilling my contract. They must know that the three of you are here, but I don't understand how. I've always made sure that this place is completely secure."

"So ye put a boun'y on yer own head by choosin' te 'elp me brudder." Connor shook his head then looked at her. "Why de ye kill people?"

"I have to have a very good reason before I accept a contract," she explained. "I don't kill for the fun of it or for the money. The contracts I fulfill are all on people who have really hurt others and keep getting away with it."

"Ye tink dat describes us?" Connor asked in disbelief.

Olivia looked into Connor's eyes. "When the contract was sent to me, there was plenty of proof attached that made the three if you look like really bad men. Besides, I've read the papers. They don't all show you to be good guys."

"What changed ye mind 'bout us?" Connor asked.

"I saw your brother risk his life to save that little boy," she answered honestly. "As soon as I saw that, I knew you weren't like I had been told."

Connor nodded. "So that's when ye decided te save 'is life an' put yer own in danger."

Olivia shrugged and muttered, "better me than one of you." She didn't want to admit, even to herself, that she had fallen hard for his brother, Murphy. It seemed so impossible. They barely knew each other.

Connor shook his head. "I saw de look in me brudder's eyes earlier during one o' de brief moments 'e 'as been awake. 'e loves ye, Olivia."

Olivia stared at him. "You can't be serious," she protested. "He doesn't even know me, and neither do you or your friend." She took a deep breath and stared at the top of her desk instead of at him. "I think it would be best if the three of you move on as soon as Murphy is able to get around."

Connor leaned across the desk. "I donna know who's more stubborn, ye or Murph," he muttered. "Ye canna tell me that ye donna believe in love at firs' site, lass. 've seen de way ye look at me brudder, an' I know it's de same way 'e looks at ye."

Olivia sighed. "None of this makes sense," she muttered. "I've never had problems like this on a job before. I don't know what the hell is going on."

Connor walked around to the other side of the desk and pulled Olivia to her feet. He wrapped her arms around her and gently rubbed her back. "It's gonna be alrigh', lass," he promised. "We'll figure som'tin' out."

Olivia sighed, closing her eyes as she allowed Connor to comfort her for a few minutes. "I hope so," she whispered.


End file.
